Rutgers Climate Expert Can Discuss U.S. Suspension of 1987 Nuclear Weapons Treaty

New Brunswick, N.J. (Feb. 1, 2019) – Rutgers Professor Alan Robock, an expert on nuclear winter and the potential impacts of nuclear war on the climate, is available to comment on the Trump administration’s suspension of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.

“Nuclear weapons are meant to wipe out whole cities, violate international human rights and violate humanitarian law,” said Robock, a distinguished professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. “Nations breaking treaties and seeking to develop more nuclear weapons are endangering us all with their commitment to security based on weapons of mass destruction. That’s not security – that’s terror and inhumane. Any use of nuclear weapons would endanger the entire planet – through nuclear winter – as it would be difficult to stop the spread of their use."

“President Trump has fired the starting pistol on Cold War II, only this one will be bigger, more dangerous and the world may not be so lucky this time around,” Robock said. “On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin has behaved recklessly in recent months with constant nuclear saber rattling that decreases security for Russia and the world. Russia should display full compliance with the INF treaty and engage in good-faith, constructive talks with the U.S. and NATO.”

Robock added: “This is an urgent clarion call to all nations to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons right now. We need to put the brake on this new nuclear arms race by refusing to accept the threat of any nuclear weapons use.”

Robock, a meteorologist and an expert on climate science and geoengineering in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, is available to comment at [email protected] and 848-932-5751.

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